How marijuana is the new gold rush

Steve DeAngelo is preparing for the marijuana gold rush following state-level legalization of the drug with The ArcView Group, a company poised to pave the way to bringing high-tech cannabis products to consumers nationwide.

DeAngelo visited the hosts of The Cycle on Friday fresh from a pitch meeting with Wall Street investors. DeAngelo says his group is most interested in marketing products and services, “that are really going to professionalize the cannabis industry and help it move into the mainstream of American life.”

His company positions itself as a one stop shop for financial services to the legal marijuana industry. If DeAngelo’s vision pans out, ArcView could become a key player in the financial infrastructure of the U.S. marijuana industry.

A bay area resident, DeAngleo embraces the mining metaphor native to ArcView’s home of San Francisco, saying that his company does not work in the marijuana trade, focusing instead on, “The picks and the shovels rather than the cannabis itself.”

Lawful sales of cannabis this year will top $1.5 billion and could quadruple by 2018, according to a report featured in Medical Marijuana Business Daily. The total market including illegal sales is estimated at anywhere between $10 to more than $120 billion a year by CNBC.

A recent Pew Research Center poll found for the first time that a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana. National legalization—which is still a hypothetical scenario—could save the U.S. up to $13.7 billion in tax revenue and reduced law enforcement costs, according to a 2005 Harvard economist report.

DeAngelo is hopeful that the public’s will can translate to legal reforms, “We’re going to see complete legalization of cannabis well within my lifetime,” he said. DeAngelo points to the 18 state governments that have already reformed marijuana laws as an indicator for the direction the county is heading on the issue.

In addition to his work with the ArcView Group Deangelo is currently engaged in a pair of lawsuits against the federal government’s attempt to close medical cannabis dispensaries. “We’ve had many many years of misinformation and outright lies being told about this plant,” DeAngelo says, adding, “Cannabis is a natural healthy alternative to many of the more dangerous pharmaceuticals.”

Do you think the current wave of marijuana legalization will soon have the federal government saying “Yes we cannabis!”? Leave your response in the comment section below.